Polling in the keenly contested Lok Sabha by-elections in Nagaland was held peacefully.
Both the candidates– Tokheho Yepthomi of PDA and C. Apok Jamir of NPF cast their vote in Dimapur and Mokokchung respectively.
Dimapur: Braving heavy downpour during the early hours, citizens of Dimapur turned out in large numbers to cast their franchise, registering around 72% approximately.
According to DC & DEO Dimapur, Sushil Kumar Patel, polling was stopped for around 40 minutes at Polling Station 35 under Dimapur III, when a voter reportedly “mishandled” a ballot unit where the EVM had to be changed.
A total of 1,99,407 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the five Assembly constituencies as voting was conducted in 323 polling stations.
The voter turnout for Dimapur district was– i. Dimapur I- 72 %; ii. Dimapur II- 64 %, iii. Dimapur III- 76 %, iv. Ghaspani I- 69% and v. Ghaspani II- 80 %. There were no reports of any untoward incidents from anywhere.
Kohima: Unlike the previous parliamentary elections, many polling stations in Kohima wore a deserted look with very few voters turning up.
According to chief electoral office (CEO), the polling percentage was 23% in the first two hours of polling (till 9 am), which subsequently drastically increased to 68% by 3 p.m.
Mokokchung: The by-poll concluded peacefully in Mokokchung district, barring one incident at Kubza village under 26 Aonglenden constituency where some miscreants reportedly damaged EVM when voting was in progress.
Mokokchung DC and returning officer Sachin Jaiswal confirmed the incident and said some miscreants barged into the polling station and damaged the EVM. He said seven persons were arrested in this connection.
The issue of re-poll at the centre will be decided by ECI, he added. The DC has pegged the voting percentage in the district at 85%.
Kiphire: By-poll in Kiphire district passed off peacefully in all 111 polling stations and voting percentage was 88.24 %. Kiuro village polling station witnessed only 33 voters, reportedly the lowest turnout in the State.
DC and district election officer Mohammed Ali Shihab and SP Imnalensa, along with other officials, visited polling centres in and around Kiphire town. Three polling stations and control rooms were handled by women personnel.
According to DIPR, some technical problems with the EVM/VVPAT occurred at Shishimi (Kyehe village) and New Longmatra, which were later replaced.
Wokha: The by-election in Wokha district passed off peacefully. RO and DC, Dr Manazir Jeelani Samoon, accompanied by SP Bharat Markad, inspected several polling stations in Wokha town.
Altogether 1,242 polling personnel were involved in 207 polling stations and 383 vehicles used across the district during the by-poll. The highlight of the election process in the district was utilising the services of differently-abled persons at two polling stations as polling officials.
Zunheboto: By-poll in Zunheboto district was held peacefully across 199 polling booths with no untoward incident being reported from anywhere.
Mon: The by-election passed off peacefully as no untoward incident was reported from anywhere till the time of filing this report. Overall voter turned out was reported to be about 76 % till 3 p.m.
In other districts like Peren, Phek, Longleng and Tuensang, besides Tseminyu sub-division, the by-election passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents.